Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis reportedly chased referee Paul Tierney down the tunnel after the Tricky Trees’ agonising 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were the victims of the 10th-latest Premier League goal on record at the City Ground, where Darwin Nunez headed home with 99 minutes on the clock to nick a dramatic win for Liverpool.
The hosts were not short of opportunities against the injury-hit Reds, and while Caoimhin Kelleher made a few vital saves, Santo’s men would have been full value for a point or even three on their own turf.
However, with the last chance of the game, Nunez found the bottom corner from Alexis Mac Allister’s delivery, sending Jurgen Klopp’s men four points clear at the summit of the Premier League rankings and leaving their hosts just four clear of the drop zone.
As Liverpool rejoiced in their first-ever Premier League win at the City Ground – where they had tried and failed on six occasions to earn maximum points – furious Forest staff remonstrated with Tierney over the events before Nunez’s last-gasp header.
A Forest attack was stopped in its tracks due to an apparent head injury for Ibrahima Konate, and Liverpool were gifted possession back courtesy of an uncontested drop ball before surging forward and finally breaching Matz Sels’s net.
The heated aftermath saw Forest defender Felipe booked and first-team coach Steven Reid given a red card by Tierney, while a stone-faced Marinakis also made his way onto the City Ground soil.
According to BBC Radio Five Live reporter Rob Schofield, the furore spilled out into the tunnel, where an enraged Marinakis followed referee Tierney and fourth official Graham Scott all the way to their office.
Schofield relayed that Marinakis repeatedly yelled “respect the players” at the officials before being led away by security, while Tricky Trees players also cut incandescent figures behind the scenes.
“You rarely see scenes like that in the tunnel. We saw Steven Reid getting frustrated. He and the Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis pursued referee Paul Tierney and fourth official Graham Scott all the way to referee’s office yelling at them “Respect the players! Respect the players! This happens every week! Respect the players!,” Schofield said.
“Marinakis had to be removed by security at one stage. The Forest players were furious, Nuno looked absolutely crestfallen. Jurgen Klopp stormed past me saying he doesn’t know why he’s getting so much flak. It really was all kicking off down here. Furious scenes.”
The hosts also had a penalty appeal waved away before Nunez struck at the other end of the field, thereby earning Liverpool their first league triumph at the City Ground in almost 40 years.
Forest fans also appeared to take issue with the amount of added time played on Saturday, as a minimum of eight minutes went up on Scott’s board before Konate’s head complaint led to a longer injury-time period.
Santo’s side – who could also land themselves in hot water with the FA owing to the unsavoury scenes at the end of Saturday’s defeat – will now bid to end a three-game losing run across all competitions when they make the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on March 10.
